When pseudo-science kills: the human cost of vaccine denial

The COVID-19 pandemic not only left a trail of victims and health crises, but also sowed the seeds of the disinformation that we’re now reaping in the form of outbreaks of preventable diseases. Measles, eradicated in the United States in 2000, has made a strong comeback, and the figures are deeply alarming.

So far this year, more than 900 cases of measles have been recorded in the United States, with major outbreaks in Texas, where more than 500 infections have been reported that have resulted in the needless deaths of unvaccinated children. More worrying is that this resurgence is not an isolated phenomenon: cases in Europe have increased tenfold since last year, with Romania the worst affected country.

The main cause of this setback is the decline in vaccination rates, driven by vaccine denialists such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump’s implausible choice for Secretary of Health and Human Services, who have spread disinformation about vaccines, that include unsubstantiated claims about their composition and supposed side effects.

This blatant campaign of falsehoods has eroded confidence in vaccines, leading to a decline in vaccination coverage. In some communities, rates have fallen below the 95% threshold needed to maintain herd immunity, which has facilitated the re-emergence of…